Essendon will seek federal government intervention to permanently halt any Asada action against the club, should the federal court rule in its favour.

The AFL club’s court battle with the anti-doping body concluded on Wednesday, with Justice John Middleton reserving his decision on whether a joint investigation by Asada and the AFL was illegal.

The Essendon chairman, Paul Little, says he will go to Peter Dutton, the sports minister, to try to bring the 18-month saga to a close, should the court rule in the club’s favour.

“I will ask him to try and find a circuit breaker,” Little told Fairfax radio on Thursday. “The whole community has got to deal with this investigation and if the sports minister is able to help us find a way through it I think that would be in the best interests of everyone.”

Little said he had spoken to the AFL about the impact the long-running investigation was having on the game. “We now need to find a way of making it go away,” he said.

Little also said suspended coach James Hird would “unequivocally” be at the club in 2015. “He’s still serving his suspension for the next two weeks, approximately. As soon as that’s finished James will be re-engaging with the club in planning for next year,” Little said.